Chigozie Daniel
The Nigerian Navy marked its 70th anniversary with action on Wednesday, May 21, 2026, as Naval Base Epe launched a combined educational and medical outreach at Universal Primary School, Ilara, Eredo LCDA, Epe, Lagos State, putting free learning materials and health supplies directly into the hands of pupils and families in one of Lagos’s underserved coastal communities.
Commanding the occasion, Navy Captain Levi Deyin, Flag Commander of Naval Base Epe, told guests that the exercise was a deliberate expression of the Navy’s twin mandate, maritime security and community welfare, describing civil-military cooperation as a force multiplier for national development.
A total of 1,000 customised exercise books, 150 customised school bags, 200 treated mosquito nets and assorted writing materials were distributed to beneficiaries drawn from the Ilara community, with Captain Deyin framing the haul as a direct response to the documented hardships facing pupils and low-income families within the base’s area of operations.
Captain Deyin declared that education and healthcare are the two most critical pillars of national development, stressing that no nation can sustain peace, productivity or growth without investing simultaneously in the minds and bodies of its people, particularly the young and the vulnerable.
The commander singled out the Ilara community and Epe residents broadly for praise, crediting their consistent cooperation and peaceful relationship with Naval Base Epe as a key enabler of the base’s operational effectiveness and community outreach calendar.
Volunteers from the school and surrounding community were publicly commended for their logistical support, with Captain Deyin acknowledging that the colour and success of the programme owed substantially to the organisers and invited guests who gave their time without compensation.
Captain Deyin urged every beneficiary to treat the distributed items not as gifts but as tools, reminding the audience that health is wealth and that education remains the surest key to unlocking future opportunities in an increasingly competitive national economy.
The Naval Base Epe commander gave an unequivocal commitment that people-oriented programmes of this kind would be sustained and expanded, saying the base would continue strengthening its bond with host communities through targeted, evidence-based humanitarian interventions.
Speaking on behalf of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, and the Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Abubakar Mustapha, Captain Deyin thanked all officers, ratings, guests and community members whose presence and participation gave the anniversary commemoration its full significance.
The 70th anniversary outreach at Epe underscores a broader Nigerian Navy strategic posture that positions the service not merely as a combat and patrol force but as an active partner in grassroots development, a doctrine the Navy has branded Onward Together and which Wednesday’s Ilara event gave tangible, community-level form.